The present Invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Poinsettia plant, botanically known as Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd., and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Amazonexe2x80x99.
The new Poinsettia a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Blanzac, France. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Poinsettia cultivars having flower bracts with desirable colors, uniform plant habit and excellent post-production longevity.
The new Poinsettia originated from a cross made by the Inventor of two unidentified proprietary Poinsettia selections. The cultivar Amazone was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Blanzac, France, in March, 1997. The selection of this plant was based on its attractive flower bract colors and good form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Poinsettia by terminal cuttings taken at Encinitas, Calif., has shown that the unique features of this new Poinsettia are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Amazonexe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Amazonexe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Pink and darker pink-speckled bracts.
2. Dark green leaves.
3. Compact, uniform, upright and spreading plant habit.
4. Very freely branching habit.
5. Early flowering.
6. Excellent post-production longevity.
Plants of the new Poinsettia can be compared to plants of the Poinsettia cultivar 221 , disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,231. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Encinitas, Calif., plants of the new Poinsettia differed from plants of the cultivar 221 in the following characteristics:
1 1. Plants of the new Poinsettia are more compact and more uniform in plant habit than plants of the cultivar 221.
1 2. Plants of the new Poinsettia are much more freely branching and much denser and fuller than plants of the cultivar 221.
1 3. Plants of the new Poinsettia have stronger stems than plants of the cultivar 221.
1 4. Leaves of the new Poinsettia are slightly broader and are held more upright than leaves of the cultivar 221.
1 5. Plants of the new Poinsettia have rounder and more uniformly-shaped inflorescences than plants of the cultivar 221.